Electronic design automation is a category of systems for assisting with the design of electronic systems and devices. Such electronic design automation systems work in a design flow that allows system designers to create and analyze complex systems. Tools for device design, simulation, analysis, and verification are part of many electronic design automation systems.
Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) is the technology of small devices with components roughly on the order of one to 100 micrometers. Different categories of MEMS exist with widely varying applications, including switching, biological lab-on-chip, microfluidics, accelerometers, or other systems. Although many MEMS systems are fabricated using manufacturing processes initially created for electronic integrated circuits, due to the differences with electronic integrated circuits and the complexity of MEMS, many of the systems for electronic design automation tools used for devices made up of transistors, resistors, and capacitors do not work well for MEMS design.